Racing: The business, skills and hot laps

Vision, looking ahead to see the path you want the car to take, may be the most important factor in racing, according to Chris Cook and Mike McGovern, guest speakers at the November PAPA meeting and instructors at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.

Car control, concentration, physical fitness and attitude also figure in, but: “You don’t want to drive the car where it’s at but where it will end up,” says McGovern, who’s been in the business some 30 years. That applies both to road courses and oval tracks.

Phoenix Automotive Press Association members also got an inside look at the business of racing, how top teams with big bucks hold an advantage and employ hundreds of people.

After the dinner and program, PAPA members also had the opportunity to take some hot laps with the two instructors behind the wheel of a Nascar stock car and a new Corvette.

“I have never been in a stock car, only in a Corvette with Bob Bondurant,” said member Cathy Droz, who hopped through the window of the Nascar racer with her signature red high heels and blasted onto the track. “I was humbled to drive with Chris Cook who actually trains Nascar drivers.”

The program coincided with the annual November Nascar race at Phoenix International Raceway, and later in the week members were able to check out the tracks Memory Lane exhibit, commemorating its 50th anniversary.